My experiences of teaching biology in Mulbadaw Secondary School and adventures throughout Tanzania.

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

How I finished my day...

With a run, of course. But a very successful one at that. I didn't run incredibly far, fast or long, but I did have some killer tunes (thank you, Mish) and random run ins. At the top of the hill where I usually stop and stretch and watch the sunset till the last possible minute until I HAVE to leave to get home before dark, I ran into two herders and had a friendly conversation. So, I haven't forgotten all my Kiswahili. That was encouraging :) Then, on the way down, a young boy (who was also herding cattle) started racing me, and, despite my mad skills, was winning. Shocking, I know. But, while running, our conversation went like this:Me: "You are winning! But I will run faster!"Boy: "I can still win!"We race...Me: (after about 15 seconds) "Okay, I'm a little tired. You win."(as we continue to jog together...)Me: "What's your name?"Boy: "Paschal"Me: "Why are you so fast?"Boy: "Because I (insert verb I don't know here...I'm assuming has something to do with herding...)with cows"Me: "Oh, nice. How far will you run?"Boy: "just until up there"Me: "My name is Stephanie. I am a white person (doesn't quite translate into English well, huh?)"Boy: (laughs) "Okay, I have to go back. Happy travels."Me: "Thanks! Happy work! (also doesn't translate well...)"Boy: "I'm sorry about your exercise. Have a good night!"Me: "Thank you! You too!"Boy: "Okay!"The end. Gotta love the little things. I realized then that even if my site is horrid in all other aspects for the rest of my time here, I can still be happy because of running and moments like this. Also, I can spot at least 5 different live bugs crawling nearby me even as I write this. Well, off to shower!!!Night, night!